altad jeepsta 2009

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Global Warming and The White House

"The White House, through the President's Science Adviser, has sent a report to Congress stating that global warming from 1950 to 1999 is unlikely to have occurred by natural processes alone."

"The new report, online at www.climatescience.gov, is accompanied by a letter signed by Mr. Bush's secretaries of energy and commerce and his science adviser."

Global climate change is happening and we are to blame. The report goes on to explain some of the changes we can expect to see. And most of them are not for the better.

For years, folks like Rush Limbaugh have been saying global warming is just a bunch of hot air. Libertarian and right wing groups for years have provided reactionary rebuffs to the science that says humans can have an impact on the global climate. Right wing think tanks specialize not on pure research but with a focus on reasons that environmental science is wrong. Focusing on disproving global warming is important for right wing and libertarian thinkers, because if climate change is proved to be true, they will have a problem that is not easily solved by free markets and 'government lite' and , gawd forbid, international cooperation.

"Myron Ebell of the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute said the report was "another indication that the administration continues to be incoherent in its global warming policies.""

Incoherent? Yes. The White House is incoherent because it would like to agree with all of the industry lobbyists it represents, but there is too much damn evidence pointing to the fact that global warming is real. The White House is very much into pushing 'voluntary' compliance to environmental standards. Voluntary will not work. Americans aren't voluntarily losing weight, even though they should. Drug runners aren't voluntarily quitting the drug trade. People don't volunteer to drive the speed limit or to not pirate music.

Companies cannot volunteer to spend more on pollution controls while their competitors continue to go the cheaper dirtier route. Industry mandated pollution controls even the playing field. All parties must comply.